Door and frame construction



E. SCHMALE noon AND FRAME CONSTRUCTION Nov. L3 1923.

Filed Sept. 20 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I/V VE/VTOR E rues'i Schmahe,

WITNESSES Nov. 13 5923. 1 473 9752,

E. SCHMALE noon AND FRAME CONSTRUCTION Filed Sept. 20 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1 un umtml WIT/VE SE 7 l/VME/VTOH Erzzes! Schma ie,

A TTORAIEVS Patented Nov. 13, 1923.

PA T

Mania hi? it; E

ERNEST SCHMALE, OF BELLEVILLE, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO BELLEVILLE STOVE AND RANGE COMPANY; OF BELLEVILLE, ILLINOIS.

DOOR AND FRAME CONSTRUCTIONi Application filed September 20; 1922. Serial No. 589,430.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ERNns'r Scnerann, a citizen of the United States, and a resident ofBelleville, in'the county of St. Clair-and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Door and Frame Constructions, of which the following is a specification.

An object of my invention is to provide a door and frame construction which is adapted to be provided in a casing, such as the casing forming an oven compartment of a stove, and which includes readily operable means of simplified construction which permit or prevent access to the interior of theeasing, as desired.

A further object of myinvention is to provide adoor and frame construction of the character described in which the door will normally be maintained in either a determined open position or'closedposition and will swing automatically to-cl'osedposh tion when moved slightly in the direction thereof from the open position.

Other objects and advantages willbeapparent fromthe following; description,- and the novel features of the invention will be particularly outlined in the appended claims. a

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this application, in which Figure lis a perspective View of a casing equipped with my invention,

Figure 2 is a relatively enlarged vertical section through the structure shown in Figure 1,

Figure 8 is a fragmentary perspective group view showing one lowercorner portion of a door comprised in the device and a latch member adapted to be associated therewith together with means for securing thelatch member to the door, and

Figure 4: is a viewsimilar to Figure 3 showing the other lower corner portion of the door together with the elements adapted to be asoc-iated therewith.

Figure 5 is a perspective VlQW of one of the bearing caps comprised in the construction.

Referring now to the drawings, I show a practical embodiment of the inventionprovided with a casing 1 which in the present instance is the casing'of the oven portion of a stove but which maybe the casing of any suitable container or structure. One of the vertical walls of the casing 1, preferably. the front wall, is providedwith av plurality of openings 2, therebeingan opening for each compartment provided within the casing 1. In the present instance, two' open ings 2 are provided, one beingpositioned above the other and being of greater= area than the other. The openings 9 are margined by frames 8 which may be integral portions of the front wall of the casing 1. In the drawings, the frames 8 are shown as having the longitudinally extend ing intermediate portions of the horizontal members thereof arcuatein cross sectional contour as indicated at 4- in Figure 2 and being curved outwardly from flat vertically extendinginner edgeportions 5' which constitute seats for doors 7, the doors 'T'being swingingly supported upon the frames in a manner which will be hereinafter described. The lower horizontal memberof the upper frame 3 is also the upper horizontal member of the lower frame 3in the casin illustrated.

Each of the doors 7 is provided with a pair of oppositely extending trunnions S the lower corners thereof, which trunnions are slightly offset downwardly in respect to the plane of the lower end: of the door proper. The trunnions 8 of each door are journaled in openings or notches 9 provided in the proximate sides of hollow bearing caps 10 which are supported upon the vertical side members of each frame 3 at the lower ends of the latter. Each bearing cap 10 is ofchannelled formaiion and is enlarged laterally intermediate of its length. An offset lug 11 extends from the one end of each bearing cap 10 and is adapted to be inserted in one of the verrical slots 12 formed in the vertical side members of each frame 3 at the lower ends thereof so that the lug 11 will engage with the inner wall of the said one of the vertical memliicrs of the frame 3 at the upper end of the slot 12 therein and the bearing cap willthus be secured in position on one of the frames 3 when a screw is projected through a screw receiving opening13'in the lower end of a bearing capand into engagement with the underlying portion of one of the frames 3. Vfith the organization described in which the bearing caps 10 are arranged in pairs, there being a pair of bearing caps at the lower end of each frame 3, the doors 7 will be swingingly supported at their lower ends and may be swung upwardly against the seats or downwardly from the position shown in Figure 1 and in the upper part of the structure shown in Figure 2 to open position as illustrated by the position of the lower door in Figure 2.

The trunnions 8 are provided with none circular end portions let which extend through the notches 9 into the-bearing caps 10. A latch element 15 has a central opening 16 of non-circular contour and adapted to receive the non-circular end portion 1 1 of one of the trunnions 8, whereby the latch member 15 will be supported on the portion 14 of the trunnion to rotate with the latter and against rotation independently of the trunnion. The latching element or member 15 may be removably secured on the non-circular portion of one of the trunnions by means of a locking cap 17 held against the outer face of the latching mem-,

her by a screw 18 extending through the locking cap into engagement with a threaded axial opening or socket 19 in the noncircular portion 14 of one of the trunnions. The edge of the locking cap 17 that is held in contiguous relation with the latching member 15 is serrated as indicated at 21 to engage with the latching member and thus be held against rotation independently of the latter.

The latching member 15 is in the form of a disk having a projection or nose 22 extending radially from the periphery thereof, which nose portion is adapted to bear upon and engage a horizontal stop shoulder 23 provided on the inner wall of one of the bearing caps when the door of which the trunnion 8 carrying the latching member is a part has been swung downwardly from vertical or closed position into horizontal position.

Each of the doors 7 is provided with two latching elements, there being a latching element secured to each of the trunnio'ns 8 r of the door. The latching element 15 which the screws 18 in conjunction with the threaded axial opening orsocket 19 in the end of the trunnion. The head portion 25 of the latching element 24 also includes a nose portion or projection 27 on the eriphery theremay be readily understood. The arm 28 of each latching member 24 extends through one of the slots 12 into the interior of the casing l. The peripheral portions of each of the latching members 15 also projects into one of the slots 12. The angular relation of the arm 28 to the nose portion 27 of each latching member 24 is such that the door provided with one of the weighted latching members 24 will be actuated by gravity to swing to closed position when moved slightly from horizontal or open position. The center of gravity of the weight 30 carried by each arm 28 liesin a vertical plane whenthe door to which the latching member 24 is attached is horizontally disposed and in consequence, the doors 7 will be maintained by their own weight in horizontal or open position when moved thereto but will be instantly swung toclosed position by actuation of the gravity controlled weighted arms 28 when the doors are swung upwardly slightly from horizontal or fully opened position. The nose portion 27 and 22 of the respective latching members car ried by each of the doors 7 will engage with the horizontal shoulders 23 of the bearing caps associated with each door when such door has been swung to horizontal position and will prevent further downward swinging movement of the door.

The doors 7 have been shown as provided with handles 32 adapted to be grasped to conveniently operate the doors.

Obviously, my invention issusceptible of embodiment in forms other than that illustrated in the accompanying drawingsand I therefore consider as my own, allmodi-- fications and. adaptations thereofwhich fairly fall within thescope of the appended claims. r

I claim: 7

1. In a door and frame construction, a vertically disposed frame having an opening therein, said frame having vertical slots in the side portions thereof adjacent to the low er end of the opening, a door having trunnions extending-in axial 'alinement with respect to each other from the lower corner portions-thereof, bearing caps adaptedto be-attached to said frame in position to cover the vertical slots in the latter and having notches in their proximate walls through which the trunnions may extend, said bearing caps having horizontal shoulders on their inner walls, latch members secured to the end portions of said trunnions and being housed in said bearing caps, said latch members having projecting portions on the periphery thereof adapted to engage the hori zontal shoulders of the bearing caps when door has been swung downwardly to horizontal position, and an arm extending from one of said latching members through one of said slots and being weighted at its end remote from the latching member.

2. In a door and frame construction, a vertically disposed frame having an openin therein, said frame having vertical slots in the side portions thereof adjacent to the lower end of the opening, a door having tI'LU'lDlOIlS extending in axial alinement with respect to each other from the lower corner portions thereof, bearing caps adapted to be attached to said frame in position to cover the vertical slots in the latter and having notches in their proximate walls through which the trunnions may extend, said bearing caps having horizontal shoulders on their inner walls, latch members secured to the end portions of said trunnions and being housed in said bearing caps, said latch members having projecting portions on the periphery thereof adapted to engage the horizontal shoulders of the bearing caps when the door has been swung downwardly to horizontal position, an arm extending from one of said latching members through one of said slots and being weighted at its end remote from the latching member, and a longitudinal weight carried by said arm and disposed in angular relation to the projection on the latching member so that the center of gravity of said weight will lie in a plane perpendicular to the plane of the door when the latter is horizontally disposed.

ERNEST SCHMALE. 

